Online Tutor Ben

Ben

Ben

PhD Anthropology


Ben0 classes

Brunel University - PhD Anthropology -


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About Me

I am an approachable teacher who aims to make learning fun and to explain complicated concepts as simply as possible. I am very happy to help with dissertations and research projects and have a great track record at getting anthropology projects that I have supervised 1sts at Undergraduate level and Distinctions at MA level. I am also happy to help to explain key concepts in anthropology and help with planning your coursework; anything in anthropology that you need support with!

In my other work, I am an experienced lecturer, comfortable with teaching in tutorials and seminars, and with a great deal of online teaching experience. I am also an active researcher in anthropology, where I mainly work on infrastructure financing communities. However, my PhD research was with itinerant boat-dwellers on the rivers and canals of England and my immersive PhD fieldwork led to me living on a narrowboat for six years! My research interests are in the Anthropology of Britain; the Anthropology of the State; the Anthropology of Infrastructure; and Finance and Public Policy.

Tutor Experience

I have taught Anthropology at five excellent UK Higher Education institutions since I recieved my PhD in 2015. Across those institutions I have taught on 42 modules, including having convened 25, at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. I have also supervised dissertations at UG and PG levels and have an excellent record of success in helping my supervisees to achieve 1sts and Distinctions. I have always achieved top level student satisfaction in all classes and have student testimonials available on request. Further, I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute. I have also tutored privately for students on Anthropology and Sociology degrees for a number of years.

Topic Expertise

As a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton between 2015-2020, I convened and taught on the following modules: Research Methods; Ethnography and Theory in Culture and Society; Kinship: Contemporary and Comparative Studies, and Cultural Politics on Tour. I also taught on Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology; Fieldwork: Theory and Practice; Being Human; Special Topics; and Biosciences Research Methods. I am proud that, in my time at Roehampton, all of my Dissertation advisees achieved First class grades.

After this, I worked as a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS - University of London between 2017-2020. Here, I convened and taught on the following modules: Ethnographic Research Methods; Research Methods in Anthropology; Comparative Studies of Society and Culture; Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology; and Social Theory. I was also Programme Convenor for the MA in Social Anthropology in 2018-2019. As a member of the Committee for Core Curriculum review, I decolonised and redesigned Social Theory, a level 4 core module. I also redesigned the module Comparative Studies of Society and Culture, including initiating an innovative patchwork assessment system.

Further, I taught Economic Anthropology: Transformation and Globalisation as a Guest Teacher at the LSE in the academic year of 2017-2018.

As a PhD student at Brunel University between 2012-2015, I convened and taught on Fieldwork Encounters: Thinking Through Ethnography, and Ethnographic Research Methods. I also taught on Anthropology of Education and Learning, and Political Anthropology. As an Hourly Paid Lecturer at Brunel University between 2017-2020, I convened and taught on the following modules: Anthropology, Objects and Images; Applied Learning for Children, Youth and International Development; and Ethnographic Research Methods.

I further designed and have, since 2018, ran the first anthropology module (Culture and Cultural Change) for study abroad students from Fordham University at the institution’s London campus.

Testimonials

From Statement of Support for SOAS Director’s Teaching Prize 2018-2019

“[Ben] engaged us in creative ways every day and encouraged everyone to participate. I've always been terrified of speaking in tutorials before his and I owe it to him that I am able to confidently join in on conversations that would have been out of my comfort zone before”

“Ben manages to make his lectures, even about theory really entertaining in ways that help us remember e.g. the Homunculi reference in the genealogy lecture will forever be burnt into my brain. He has a real talent for injecting humour into really challenging topics.”

“Ben has one of the best lecture styles: engaging, funny, explaining difficult concepts in many different ways (this was key for my comprehension I'd say), and tried to make the concepts relatable to the students as well.”

“I think our tutorial group for [the module] Comparative Studies could be quite shy and Ben was really responsive to this with his method of getting people to write down questions on paper and picking them out for the tutorial to discuss [that] meant that everyone was included and got their voices heard…. I think Ben also tries to be really creative with his teaching one great tutorial activity I can remember was when we all looked at each others IDs for symbols of banal nationalism which brought all the theory into the real world.”

“Ben acted as a real and true student advisor beyond just classroom topics. He was willing to listen to both our classroom-related and general student concerns. He often offered both empathetic and practical advice for our issues and questions, and seemed to make himself available and more open to student inquiries than many of the other lecturers.”

“Ben is super organised, which is so reassuring to students with SPLDs like me”

“The huge amount of clear feedback we get on our assignments! Like details in text and an overall comment, it’s been super helpful to look over for subsequent assignments.”

From a letter to my former Head of Department following a lesson review form Doctor Nicky Reid, a National Teaching Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the University of Roehampton’s Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit

“What an absolutely inspiring lecturer [Ben] is. Students were encouraged to think for themselves and be participative in their own learning which was wonderful to see in action. He develops confidence in their own knowledge and abilities, so they can develop and take risks. An excellent lecture and seminar - just what you hope a lecturer will deliver. This was research informed teaching/learning at its absolute best. I have nothing but praise for his planning and delivery – both were exemplary.”

Qualifications

BA (Hons). Durham University. 1st Class. 2011
PhD Anthropology. Brunel University. 2015
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). 2017

Availability

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